As heads of state prepare to gather for the NATO summit in Chicago, the undersigned NGOs call on NATO member states and the Afghan Government to prioritize improving the accountability of the Afghan National Security Forces as well as measures to enhance their capability to protect civilians more broadly.

Violations by Afghan Forces Could Escalate as They Take on Frontline Role
NATO States Must Act Now to Stop Abuses by Afghan Police and Army

Coalition forces are not doing enough to prevent abuses by Afghan forces and have been too slow to address the issue as they prepare to hand over responsibility for security, Oxfam and other agencies said today.

This report presents follow-up research
to that conducted by the Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium
(HRRAC) in 2004. Our 2004 report, "Take the Guns Away", focused
on Afghans' perceptions of the security situation in the country prior
to the 2005 presidential elections. In 2004, after surveying 684 Afghans
in six provinces, HRRAC reported the people's assertion that the rule of
law was effectively non-existent countrywide.